Israel kills terrorist commander who infiltrated Nir Oz and snatched Yagil Yaakov during Oct. 7 massacre

Israeli forces on Friday killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023 assault and took part in the abduction of Yagil Yaakov.

According to Sunday’s Israel Defense Forces statement, Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa was struck in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency operation in the southern Gaza Strip.

Abu Mustafa was a Nukhba commander in PIJ’s Khan Yunis Brigade, and according to the IDF posed an immediate threat to troops in the area.

Israeli forces confirmed they had eliminated terrorist Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa. IDF

“In recent months, Abu Mustafa played a significant role in rebuilding the terrorist organization’s military capabilities in the Gaza Strip, in violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the military said. “In addition, the terrorist advanced numerous terrorist attacks against IDF troops and attempted to conduct training for terrorists at Nasser Hospital, while exploiting the hospital to advance terrorist activity.”

The IDF said that a photo that its forces found documents Abu Mustafa inside Israeli territory during Yaakov’s abduction.

The Israeli teenager spent 52 days in Gaza captivity before being released in November 2023. His father, Yair, was murdered on Oct. 7 and his body recovered from Gaza by the IDF.

In an additional strike, the IDF said it killed Mohammed Osama Abd al-Aziz Saba al-Eish, described as a Hamas Nukhba operative involved in training and recruiting terrorists.

In a statement on Monday, the IDF said that on Saturday its forces in Gaza killed two Hamas terrorists.

One of the terrorists was identified as Ahmad Munir Khalil Zaza, an engineering officer in Hamas’s West Jabalia Battalion. He was involved in weapons production and the construction of explosive devices, and had recently attempted to plant explosives near Israeli forces, according to the IDF.

Former hostage Yagil Yaakov, who was kidnapped, took part in a ceremony in Kibbutz Nir Oz in December 2024. REUTERS

The other terrorist, killed in a separate strike, was identified by the IDF as Hussein Safadi, who it described as commander of Hamas’s sniper array in Gaza City, who had directed attacks on Israeli troops and was recently involved in training snipers despite the ceasefire.

Israeli forces remain deployed in Gaza under the Southern Command and will continue to act against immediate threats, the IDF said.